Edinburgh has a fascinating history dating back thousands of years, with evidence of a settlement in the Cramond area from around 8500 BC.
The city’s name comes from ‘Eidyn’, the name for the region in Cumbric – the Brittonic language spoken in the Northern England and Lowland Scotland in the Middle Ages.
At this time a stronghold on Castle Rock was called Din Eidyn, literally meaning ‘the hillfort of Eidyn’. As the Scots language evolved, the Din was replaced by ‘burh’, creating Edinburgh.
And there are plenty more clues to the Capital’s complex past in the names of the areas that make up the city, all of which come from a multitude of languages, backgrounds and people.
Here are 10 more of them – following on from part one of our series you can read here.
1. Warriston
Meaning 'high estate' in Gaelic, Warriston was named after Warriston House - a mansionhouse that used to stand in the neighbourhood. The family who owned it had a bloody history. In 1600 John Kincaid, the Laird of Warriston, was murdered by his wife, her two female servants, and his stable hand. The women were captured and sentenced to be burned to death. Photo: Unknown
2. Restalrig
The area was first named Lestalric in 1165, after Edward de Lestalric who started building a church on the site that was completed in 1210 by his grandson, Sir Thomas de Lestalric. At various times it was then known as Lestalryk, Restalric or Rastalrig. The name Restalrig was eventually settled on - and means 'ridge of the miry (or muddy) land'. Photo: Unknown
3. Bruntsfield
The original name for Bruntsfield was 'Brounysfelde' or 'Brown's Fields', after the owner of what is now known as Bruntsfield House - Richard Broun of Boroumore. Photo: Crauford Tait
4. Saughton
Saughton gets its name from the Lowland Scots word 'sauch', meaning willow - referring to the trees growing beside the Water of Leith. Photo: Unknown